Novell Storage Services (NSS) is a file system used by the Novell NetWare network operating system. Support for NSS was introduced in 2004 to SUSE Linux via low-level network NCPFS protocol. It has some unique features that make it especially useful for setting up shared volumes on a file server in a local area network.
| Developer(s) | Novell |
|---|---|
| Full name | Novell Storage Services |
| Introduced | 1998 with NetWare 5 |
| Partition IDs | 0x69 |
| Structures | |
| Directory contents | B+ tree |
| File allocation | ? |
| Bad blocks | ? |
| Limits | |
| Max volume size | 8 EB |
| Max file size | 8 EB |
| Max no. of files | 8 trillion |
| Max filename length | 256 16-bit Unicode characters |
| Allowed filename characters | Variable; depends on namespace being used |
| Features | |
| Dates recorded | Access, Creation, Modified, Archived, Metadata Modified |
| Date range | Unknown |
| Forks | Yes (available through the AFP namespace, which is always loaded) |
| Attributes | Readonly, Hidden, System, Archive, Sharable, Transaction, Immediate Purge, Rename Inhibit, Delete Inhibit, Copy Inhibit, Link, Remote Data Access, Remote Data Inhibit, Compress Immediate, Data Stream Compress, Do Not Compress, No Stream Compress, Attr Archive, Volatile, Execute |
| File system permissions | Netware ACLs: Supervisor, Read, Write, Create, Erase, Modify, File Scan, Access Control; POSIX (RWX per owner, group and all) when NFS namespace is loaded |
| Transparent compression | Yes |
| Transparent encryption | Yes |
| Copy-on-write | Yes / snapshots |
| Other | |
| Supported operating systems | Novell NetWare, SUSE Linux |
| Website | https://www.novell.com/documentation/open-enterprise-server-2018/stor_nss_lx/data/front.html |
NSS is a 64-bit journaling file system with a balanced tree algorithm for the directory structure. Its published specifications (as of NetWare 6.5) are:
- Maximum file size: 8 EB
- Maximum partition size: 8 EB
- Maximum device size (Physical or Logical): 8 EB
- Maximum pool size: 8 EB
- Maximum volume size: 8 EB
- Maximum files per volume: 8 trillion
- Maximum mounted volumes per server: unlimited if all are NSS
- Maximum open files per server: no practical limit
- Maximum directory tree depth: limited only by client
- Maximum volumes per partition: unlimited
- Maximum extended attributes: no limit on number of attributes.
- Maximum data streams: no limit on number of data streams.
- Unicode characters supported by default
- Support for different name spaces: DOS, Microsoft Windows Long names (loaded by default), Unix, Apple Macintosh
- Support for restoring deleted files (salvage)
- Support for transparent compression
- Support for encrypted volumes
- Support for data shredding